After
by devilbk
Summary: The Arctic Expedition ended in tragedy. How will the survivors deal with their sense of loss. Includes character death.


_A/N:_ _Here's a little one-shot I threw together as an experiment. I wanted to do something without dialogue_. _But, because it's me writing it, I still had to do something awful to Leonard. Apparently I have a rep._

**After**

After Leonard's funeral Sheldon didn't see much of Penny. The only thing he knew was that 31 grew to 61 in very short order. He found it all very confusing. He also didn't really understand what had happened to Leonard. Why had he gone outside into the freezing Arctic weather without enough protective clothing? And why did he have Sheldon's Kindle with him? They didn't find him until the next morning. And it was too late. There was nothing they could do. Apparently the door locked behind him and he just froze. Howard and Raj seemed to know something but they wouldn't say a word. And they stopped coming over to 2311 North Los Robles when they all got back. There was no funeral. Leonard's mother didn't believe in such things. Sheldon took a leave from the university. He blamed himself for his best friend's death. He was pretty sure everyone else blamed him too. He just stayed in his apartment by himself, ordering food in, having everything delivered, counting the men leaving Penny's apartment in the morning never to return. The few times he saw Penny she looked lifeless, hopeless. But that didn't stop her from going out every night. And bringing another man home. Every night.

One Saturday, they both opened their doors at the same time. 8:15pm. They hadn't done their laundry together in a very long time. Since before the Arctic. They looked at each other, each waiting for the other to say something. They just kept standing there. Then Penny dropped her basket. Sheldon put his down. They each tentatively took a step towards each other. And then another. And another. And when they were up against each other Penny put her arms around Sheldon and Sheldon put his arms around Penny. And they pulled each other closer and they both began to cry. Together they sank to their knees and continued crying. After what seemed like a very long time, they got up, grabbed their baskets and went down to the basement together and did their laundry. In silence.

When they were done they silently walked upstairs together. Penny left her laundry in her apartment and went over to Sheldon's. She sat down in her spot on the couch next to Sheldon. A few minutes later a pizza arrived. They ate together in silence. Sheldon chose a movie and showed it to Penny. She nodded ascent. He put it on. They watched it together. In silence. When it was over Penny squeezed Sheldon's hand with hers, got up and left.

The next morning when Sheldon got up he smelled bacon and eggs cooking and coffee. He put on his robe and found Penny making breakfast. Bacon and eggs was not on his schedule for that day but he smiled weakly, accepted a plate from Penny, sat down and ate. That afternoon they somehow silently concluded that it was time to shop for groceries. Sheldon produced a list and showed it to Penny. She added a few things. They went out and shopped. The entire time they didn't say a word.

Slowly Sheldon realized that he hadn't seen Penny go to work at The Cheesecake Factory since he came back. One afternoon he noticed an eviction notice on her door. He decided that he couldn't accept losing her too so he drafted a new agreement. It was very short.

_Roommate Agreement_

_Penelope Rene Queen and Sheldon Lee Cooper agree to share Apartment 4A at 2311 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena, California for as long as they mutually desire such an arrangement._

There was space at the bottom for both of their signatures. Sheldon signed before he slipped it under Penny's door. The next morning Sheldon found the agreement sipped back under his door signed by Penny. She began bringing her things over later that day.

A few weeks later Sheldon decided to return to work. He still had the limited information he'd collected in the Arctic to go over. It wasn't enough but it might be sufficient to convince someone to fund another expedition. Sheldon realized he needed help, primarily to keep people away so he could work. He offered Penny a position and she accepted. She had nothing else to do and Sheldon was the only person she could handle being around. Sheldon felt much the same way about Penny.

They ate lunch together every day. In silence. But it had grown into a comfortable silence. They found they didn't need to say anything to each other.

In time Sheldon got the necessary funding for another expedition. He only considered one person to go along with him. Penny and Sheldon went to the Arctic together. Sheldon started getting positive results after a month. Three months later he and Penny returned from the Arctic in triumph. There would still be much work to do but Sheldon was well on his way to a Nobel. He was also well on his way to another adventure. Penny was two months pregnant.


End file.
